Little Mobile Home on the Tundra: Interrupting Generational Dysfunction is a richly layered literary novel that chronicles the emotional, spiritual, and psychological formation of a young Black girl growing up in the remote interior of Alaska. Set beneath the surreal light of the midnight sun, the novel examines how childhood environments, family systems, faith traditions, and unspoken trauma shape identity across generations.
Told through the perceptive voice of Tawny, the story begins with her family living in a fragile mobile home on the tundra-an impermanent structure that mirrors the instability of her early life. As Tawny moves through childhood and adolescence, she encounters poverty, racism, rigid religious expectations, parental absence, emotional neglect, and the quiet violence of silence within families. Yet she also experiences moments of tenderness, intellectual awakening, and deep longing for belonging and safety.
The Alaskan landscape functions as more than a backdrop; it is a living presence that reflects both isolation and possibility. Against this stark environment, Tawny learns to observe the contradictions of adult authority, the weight of inherited pain, and the unexamined patterns passed from parent to child. Education, storytelling, and spiritual questioning become tools through which she begins to understand herself and imagine a future beyond survival.
As the narrative unfolds, the novel traces Tawny's growing awareness of generational dysfunction-how trauma is transmitted through behavior, belief systems, and the difficult, often lonely work required to interrupt it. Rather than offering simple resolutions, the story honors the complexity of healing, emphasizing reflection, accountability, and the courage to confront the past.
Written with lyrical precision and emotional honesty, Little Mobile Home on the Tundra is a coming-of-age novel that speaks to readers interested in family dynamics, cultural identity, faith, resilience, and the long arc of healing. It is particularly suited for readers of literary fiction, book clubs, academic and therapeutic settings exploring intergenerational trauma and personal transformation.
